Amateur Adventurist

Amy goes to South America.

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Machu Picchu :)

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Machu Picchu

The largest attraction in all of South America, is Machu Picchu. Located a few hours from Cusco, in the Sacred Valley, this site stands 2,430m above sea level. It was thought to be built around 1450, but has only been 80% finished. You can see the unfinished areas near the higher parts of the estate. It is easy to tell because certain areas are built up with walls of hand cut stone, and squares are designated. In the unbuilt spots the huge chunks of rock remain uncarved and scattered.  The Incas abandoned it at the time of the Spanish conquest. Machu Picchu was known to the local people but remained unknown to most of the world until 1911 when Hiram Bingham stumbled upon the ruins by accident. Most of the notable artifacts were taken, and remain, at Yale University un the USA.  Today, there is still a lot of exploring going on in the area as an attempt to uncover more information about the Incas and their sites. 

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Always More Than You Expect

PERU! When I was arriving into Peru from Chile, our bus passed under a sign which said "Peru - Always more than you expect". I did not think too much of this at the time, just thinking we will see. 

After arriving in Arequipa, and being offered a ride from a friend of a friend, I was already feeling pretty good. I joined a walking tour the next morning and met so many awesome people. I endedup staying with a few people from the tour for the rest of the day. We chatted and walked around town, got a great deal of local food for lunch (2 courses and drink for $2 CAD), we tried local smoothies (milk, beer, banana, raw egg, syrup, and sugar), had a drink on a rooftop above the plaza and also ate dinner together. I met a couple of them again that night at their hostel to play/watch in a peer pong tournament. First day? Pretty awesome Peru. 

Arequipa went by fast, I spent another 1.5 days there walking the streets and meeting other travellers. We bought a few souvenirs and got lost on the way to dinner. I visited old churches and local markets, drank fruit smoothies and enjoyed my relaxing time. Next- CUSCO! Upon arrival in Cusco I took a taxi to the hostel and spent a couple hours planning Peru and checking mesages my ipod. I asked someone (Selena) about her plans and instantly became friends. Another girl (Frankie) had heard our conversation and she easily joined in the group. The tree of us spent all our time together for the rest of our stays there. These girls really helped welcome me into Cusco! They also helped me decide to book my Machu Picchu train. 

I took a taxi from Cusco to Ollantaytambo (Sacred Valley) and then a train to Aguas Calientes. On the train I met Julie who was also planning on hiking up the following morning. Its about a 2 hour walk to Machu Picchu from my hostel. You have to walk to a bridge, and then to the stairs - then decide to take the road up or the stairs up (2000 of them). Julie and I had already commited to climbing the stairs so this was the clear choice at 530am. She is a super athlete and made it up to the top at 555 - just before opening. I was about 15 mins behind, but still felt pretty accomplished!  We wandered around alone before finding each other again and touring around. She had booked a tour through her hostel, and I had not. I ended up haning around and joining her tour (without paying) and the guide was none the wiser! The tour was informative and we saw a bunch of the old town. I didnt have a great camera but lucky for us we met a group of Canadian/Americans who loved taking photos. Julie and I spent sometime looking around and taking photos with these guys before she went off to hikeup one of the trails. The guys and I took a different trailto a bridge on the side of a cliff. Where we took many more photos and then returned to the town. I caught my train back to Cusco that night. We all met up again for drinks and games that night which was a lot of fun. The next day I had my bus to Lima (21 hours). 

As a conclusion, Peru has thus far, absolutely exceeded my expectations! 

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Machu Picchu 

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And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.

Friedrich Nietzsche

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Arequipa

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Taito Geysers - 7am

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Every hundred feet the world changes.

Roberto Bolaño

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San Pedro de Atacama

Well I am in love. This little town of 5,000 does not cease to amaze! Located in the Puna de Atacama - an arid plateau in the north of Chile - this town is the opposite of dry. Technically an oasis due to the small amounts of vegetation here, this town seems to inspire all that step foot here. The streets remain unpaved and unregulated. Locals, tourists, cars, dogs, bikers, buses and birds all share these dusty roadways. The town itself comprises of an old church, a university museum, a fruit and veggie market, a ton of tourism agencies and a bunch of little shops. 

The real treat though, is the surrounding area. The tourism agencies are a bit pricey but the places that they take you are once in a lifetime experiences! My first tour was on the second day here. I got up at 4am to see the sun rise over Bolivian mountains while the worlds third largest geyser feild squirted water and steam up at us. We had breakfast watching the sun and the geysers and chatting amongst ourselves. After we had our fill of food and landscape we headed off to the hot springs. These hot springs were more like warm, so most people gathered at the warmer end so as not to freeze in the chilly mountain air. However, once in the warmer end, boughts of really hot water kept surprising us! It would be warm and normal then bam you are burned and jump up in the water causing the heat to disperse. I only lasted about 20 mins in here! We then saw wetlands with birds and Vicuñas, and as a last stop saw some Flamingos! What a morning. 

Day two I was up at 630am and headed out to the middle of the Atacama Salt Flats to see some Flamingos up closer. These birds are SO interesting to watch! I learned that the colour they have develops about two years after birth and it comes from their food! They eat krill which have some kind of natural colour which is passed on to the flamingos. We then had breakfast and headed off to see a small village, typical for this desert area. Here they use a combination of light volcanic rock, llama skin, and cacti to build their churches, shops and houses! Very different to Canadian materials. We also saw Vicuñas and birds, they were especially prevelant in the mountain lakes we stopped at! Absolutely gorgeous views! These lakes were created by the eruption of a major volcano causing the crator, and now the glacial snow atop the mountain melts into the basins and lakes are formed! These lakes freeze solid in the winter due to the high altitude temperature drops. What a great second day!

Overall an amazing place, and I have my cousin to thank for suggesting it! I would highly reccomend this to anyone in the area. Pictures of these adventures are coming soon!!

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Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.

Cesare Pavese

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Truly an Amateur Adventurist

I never claimed to be "good" at travelling, if one can even be good at such a thing. However, I don't learn from reading or listening, I learn from being involved in something. This trip has been a way to involve myself in travel and backpacking. To be involved in understanding cultures, in people and experiences, in the geographies of countries I have only visited by way of Google maps. This is why I am an "amateur" adventurist. Because I am learning about my favourite pastime.

When I was in Costa Rica alone, on a bus, a middle aged man who sat next to me gave me a talk all about what it means to be a beginner. At the time I was tired and hungry and not much of what he said really sunk in. But now, after trying and trying again at a new language, and being a total beginner at so many things in my trip, I have realised what he meant.   -   Don't be afraid of something because you don't know it. If you don't know it then jump in and figure it out, don't hold back because of the anxiety of being a beginner. True but easier said than done.

While in Argentina I have been thrust into many new experiences, a lot of which I did not chose and could not predict. From great experiences such as meeting several members of my different Argentinian family relatives, and stumbling upon some of the greatest entertainment in Buenos Aires streets, to the not so fun like to going to the wrong airport for a flight or having disappointing and frustrating miscommunications with rude ticket sellers. This country has equally amazed me and shaken me. 

As I said, I am no expert but I am excited about everything that I am learning. The bad comes with the good and at the end of the day I have everything that I really need. Once this trip is over, I hope I can maintain the attitude of jumping into something new when I can, and not being afraid to be a beginner!   

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Iguazu Falls National Park

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“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Marcel Proust

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Chiloe - Land of Seagulls and Legends

Chiloe is a land full of legends and myths. It is a province including many islands on the brink of Chile´s Patagonia. Chiloe comes from the Mapuche word "chilwe" which means place of seagulls. I can understand why they call it "Place of Seagulls" as it is surrounded by ocean and has many colonies of seagulls. 

There are also a few legends which I read about or was told of, which I want to share. 

The Basilisk.

This is not an unfamiliar word to anyone who has read the second book of Harry Potter. Chilote mythology calls it the Basilisco Chilote, and names is a type of Basilisk which is a more general word. The Basilisco Chilote has the head of a rooster but the body of a snake. It hatched from the egg of a hen and lives as a serpent under a house. This animal is afraid of fire and it can be killed by burning. There is some discrepancy as to how it kills it´s human prey. Some say it lives under the house and slowly feeds on their saliva until they dehydrate and die. But others say it lives in the walls of the home and if you see it you will die. There are many places which offer a Basilisk type legend but on Chiloe this legend is one of many. 

The Ship

There is a legend about a ship which can move above or under the water. It is a ghost ship that they call The Caleuche. This ship is said to be made up of the drowned dead, whoare able to be "alive" while on the ship. They are half-deads. There is debate on the apperance of said ship - some say its dark coloured and some say its bright white and full of lights. Either way, everyone agrees that this ship is full of half dead people who party all night long. 

These are only two of the many many legends. Chilote mythology is very interesting, if not a bit far fetched. There are also many superstitions and occurances of luck. Many of which lead to the telling of a childs gender. It was seen as luck to give birth to a little boy, so many women tried to "get lucky" by way of a supersition or legend. There is one which claims if ash sprays a certain way during a fire you will have a made child. So you can imagine that many a fire was had on the island. 

I really enjoyed Chiloe, and although I am writing this post nearly a month after my arrival on the island its better late than never!

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Chiloe!

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A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of a faraway place. A traveler on the plane sees the farmhouse, and thinks of home.

Carl Burns